Music, a Suitcase, Bats and General Convention

This being my first General Convention, I was not quite certain what to expect. I arrived late afternoon, Monday, July 2 and from 30,000 feet in the air, I was given tickets for Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real at Austin City Limits. Seeing a live show at Austin City Limits has been on my bucket list for quite some time! I made the Rev. Canon Dan Morrow go with me (he didn’t seem to mind). Standing less than 10 feet from the stage and enjoying live music at Austin City Limits felt surreal. And, THAT is how the 79th General Convention trip began for me.

The following morning, I obtained my media credentials badge, schedule, app info, press info, exhibit hall layout and I was off to cover various events. I was fortunate enough to have a few hours to walk around the exhibit hall and converse with various exhibitors. From the Church Pension Group to The Jesus Movement booth, the display areas were impressive and the people in the booths were kind, talkative and excited to see folks coming in. The daily schedule at General Convention is packed (this is an understatement). From early morning meetings, Legislative Sessions, House of Deputies/House of Bishops sessions, media briefings to late night diocesan deputation meetings, I am amazed as I watch The Episcopal Church at work. Our diocesan Bishop, Clergy and Lay Delegates and Alternates, P3 Social Justice Committee Member, ECW and Sign Language Interpreter are all incredibly hard at work. Most days I tote three screens, a cell phone, a camera and video equipment in a rolling suitcase to make sure I don’t miss any event.

Each day, we as media receive updates/daily briefings and with the new General Convention Media Hub site https://www.episcopalchurch.org/general-convention-2018-media-hub, ENS website https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/ and other diocesan communicators, we as Episcopal Communicators are all collaborating to provide the latest General Convention news in as close to “real time” as possible. And its teamwork at its best! As Communicators, we were able to gather one evening and see bats, a plethora of bats. Austin is weird…and awesome.